China urges U.S. to stop accusations on so-called Internet freedom

BEIJING, Jan. 22 (Xinhua) -- China urged the United States to respect facts and stop unreasonable accusations on China in the name of so-called Internet freedom.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Ma Zhaoxu made the remarks on Friday when commenting U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's speech.

Clinton on Thursday called for China and other authoritarian governments to lift their restrictions on citizens' use of the Internet.

"The U.S. side had criticized China's policies on Internet administration, alluding that China restricts Internet freedom. We firmly oppose such words and deeds, which were against the facts and would harm the China-US relations," Ma said.

The spokesman introduced Internet development in China, saying China's Internet is open, and the country has witnessed the most active development of Internet in the world.

According to him, by the end of last year, the number of Chinese cyber citizens has reached 384 million with 3.68 million websites and 180 million blogs.

The Chinese constitution protects the citizens' freedom of speech, and it is a consistent policy of the Chinese government to promote the development of Internet, He said.

Ma added that China has its own domestic situation and cultural tradition, and it accords with the world's common practice that China administers the Internet according to its laws and policies.